Chapter 4: Preparing for the trip.
"Thank you for helping me again." Aichi said, bowing his head at Kourin.
She blinked, but waved her hands back and forth. "It's nothing, really. I'm just cardfighting you. Its you who is mastering Psyqualia, inch by inch. You have a very long way to go, but we can't train anymore right now. The America circuit will be in two days, and everyone on the team needs to get some rest and pack up for a few days."
"Do you think I'll be able to handle Psyqualia at the fight?" Aichi asked, and Kourin shook her head, so he felt a bit discouraged. "You're still having a lot of problems. If you MUST use Psyqualia, do it before you fight. You may still lose, however,"
"I can't let that happen. I won't." Aichi promised.
"I'll see you in two days then." Kourin asked, leaving the blue haired boy on his own. Not knowing what else to do, he began his trek home. He entered his house and called out ' I'm home!"
His mother welcomed him home, returning back to her cooking, and Emi was helping set the table. "Welcome back, Onii-chan!" She said.
"Thank you. I'll be home most of tomorrow to pack up. Will you be coming with us this time around?"
"You bet!" Emi said with a smile. "I want to watch my big brother win his first circuit! I''m pretty excited to see Kourin fight as well! It's so exciting."
Aichi laughed, sitting down as dinner was served. "I have to win this next circuit... I WILL win the next one." He declared, taking a bite out of his chicken, and received a concerned look from Emi. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, after which Aichi did his chores and went upstairs to his room.
He closed the door and laid his deck out, card by card. He took a deep breath, and reached into the power he longed feared grasping... Psyqualia. If Kourin hadn't told him the whole story, he would not have used his power so freely... but after the defeat handed to him by Leon, he had begun to consider using this fearsome ability. Now he was training with Kourin in that same ability.
As he tapped into this power, he could hear the voices of his card. "Use me... use me and I will grant you victory." He heard, like a flood of voices begging for attention.
He could picture it: On the Planet Cray, a rocky mountain range with a clear central areas, dark clouds above him. As he looked in front of him, his units were gathered, bowing or kneeling to their king, who had wielded them in glorious fights. Win or Lose, their new king had become a splendid one.
Aichi remembered when he first got this deck. He was terrified of using another deck other than the Royal Paladins, but he had learned to break his limits and keep moving. Now that he thought about it, his training with Kourin was much the same: breaking the limits he set on his Psyqualia. He would have to thank her for this opportunity at a later time. As he got his deck ready for the next fight, he yawned. Realizing that staying up would only incur Kourin's wrath, he went to bed rather quickly.
…
He woke up late again, which was about the usual thing for Aichi, even though he went up to bed rather early. He woke up to Emi almost making him fall off the bed. "Onii-chan! It should be the OLDER brother waking the YOUNGER sister up, not the other way around!" She lectured.
"Ha ha, sorry." He said, getting up with a stretch "We better prepare for tomorrow as soon as we finish up breakfast.
"I'm already prepared." Emi said. "I've had breakfast and everything."
Aichi blanched, but recovered and rushed down the stairs, eating the food his mom prepared at light speed.
...
"You guys are done packing already?" Kourin asked, walking into Cardfight Capital, where Shin and Misaki were busy loading up the van.
"We stayed up most of the night gathering everything we could need. Clothes, snacks, Shin bought a new camera, so so finished early this morning." Misaki explained. "What about you?"
"I still had a suitcase unpacked, so I'll just use that, and buy whatever I forgot, if anything." She explained, moving to help Misaki place her suitcase in the van, then lifted her own suitcase in.
"and that settles out stuff, now we have to wait to load everyone else in the van. Let's take a break until the others arrive. I'll put on some tea." Shin said, disappearing inside.
"We've been doing a lot of training, haven't we?" Misaki asked, tapping her deck. "You've been helping us quite a bit... but why do you spend so much time with Aichi?"
"Because I can." Kourin said , not willing to tell any of them they've been training in a power that potentially turns people evil. Seeing as Misaki didn't know, Kourin figured it was best to just ignore it. She was rewarded with an incredibly suspicious glare.
"Well, just don't do anything... extra." She said. Kourin was confused for a second... then some color was added to her cheeks "I wouldn't do that. You don't have much faith in me, it seems."
"I also know how much Aichi looks up to you." Miskai said. "He's placed a lot of faith in you and realy likes you. So like I said, don't do anything extra." She said, walking into the store.
Kourin sighed and shook her head. Like she would plan o doing anything like that. Even if it WAS Aichi, who Kourin admitted she was fond of, she wouldn't... Clearing her thoughts, she helped Kamui when he arrived, and had a few rounds with him.
"Where the hell is Aichi?" Kourin asked, after Her and Kamui's fourth round. Ten minutes later, the blue haired boy came through the doors of the shop. "Um, sorry... I slept in late again... SORRY!" He shouted, after receiving an evil glare from Kourin.
"Well , that's everyone." Shin said, coming downstairs, and taking them outside so they can drink the tea he prepared for them. "We'll meet here at seven to head for the airport tomorrow." He said. "Be sure to get some sleep early. Until then, relax and have some fun."
"Because tomorrow we go to WAR!" Kamui said, we fist pump
"That reminds me, I haven't seen Neichi or Eichi lately, where are they?"
"Neichi's sick, so I told Eichi to stay and look after Neichi." Kamui explained. "They'll be watching us, tho, so we gotta fight hard!"
"Right!" Aichi said. "We'll win this time for sure!" He promised, and there was a collective nod from the group. After a few more card-fights, it was time for them to pack up.
Aichi found himself walking home with Kourin, and he was a little awkward for some reason, so most of the trip was in silence. Towards the end, they made a little deviation, finding themselves at the park again.
"Do you think you're prepared?" Kourin asked, not looking at Aichi but rather at the sun, which was slowly turning into a bright shade of red.
"No." Aichi admitted in a quiet voice. "I still have a very long way to go... but I feel that with you and all my friends supporting me, I will be soon."
"That's.. good to hear." Kourin said. For no reason, Misaki's voice pierced her head at that moment. 'don't do anything extra.' She heard. She blinked and shook it out of her head. Aichi looked at her, slightly confused. "Are... you alright, Kourin-san?"
"Y-yes, I'm fine." Kourin said, relaxing herself with a breath. She reached into a pocket, and produced a card, which she handed to Aichi. "Here, this will give you a hand in breaking your limits even further."
Aichi accepted the card holding it like it was an ancient relic or something similar. "This is... thank you very much!" He said, bowing. Kourin stepped back, waving her hand like it was nothing. "I have faith in yo, Aichi-kun. You'll do what you feel is right, and that's what I like about you, so don't give in to anything, ever."
Now it was Aichi's turn to turn a little rosy. "I wont, I promise." He said with a nod, and they split ways, each heading to their respective houses.
As Kourin walked home, she remembered the time she gave him Blond Ezel, his current key card. She was so pleased Aichi found such use out of it, and she could tell he had really treasured it... that brought a smile to her face, a rare, warm smile. She had no doubts that he would treasure this card as well, and it would be sure to bring him victory.
A she went home, she showered and got into bed, and fell asleep rather easy. Tomorrow, the long awaited plan would begin to bear fruit.
-Ya, I don't like fillers either, but it had to be done. I think we all know the card Aichi was given, but don't spoil it if you know. Tomorrow, the American circuit will begin! Keep those reviews coming!